Spy Kids Reviews

I really liked Spy Kids. I thought it was a very entertaining film, without taking itself too seriously. It was funny, intelligent and creative. What I mean by that, is that there is something for adults and older children as well as young kids. There was a fun script, that was intelligent and funny without being too artificial, and the direction from Robert Rodriguez was surprisingly effective. The plot is original, the thumb people were great fun, the action was fast-paced, the scenery was lovely and the special effects and stunts are splendid. And the soundtrack was awesome. The acting was very good, with Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara spirited in the two leads and their constant bickering was a delight. Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino have fun as the parents, while Alan Cumming and Tony Shalhoub come close to stealing the film as Floop and Minion. The film also has a nice message; my only complaints are the rather over-emphasised ending, and I did feel that Cheech Marin and Danny Trejo didn't have enough screen time to shine properly but I did enjoy their brief appearances. All in all, a very underrated and fun movie. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Honestly, I was always had a hard time with this franchise. Indeed, even though this 1st installment was a surprise success at the box-office, I thought it was rather underwhelming which is too bad because the concept actually had some potential. Anyway, at the time, it seemed that Robert Rodriguez found his new cash-cow and kept making Spy Kids flicks until the audience really got fed up (which happened pretty quickly eventually). To be honest, my children really liked this movie (and its sequels) a lot so I guess it was a success with its target audience but, in my opinion, I don’t think it is really enjoyable for grown-ups. On top of that, the whole thing didn’t grow old very well and it feels rather dated 10 years later (maybe the reason why the recent 4th installment was such a flop). Still, I think we should give Robert Rodriguez some credit for going from some really R rated features to some familly material like this one and still being quite successful in the process which is quite rare. To conclude, even though the whole thing could have been really good, I thought it was quite average but you might still give it a try if you want to watch something with your kids.

Spy Kids is to little kids what James Bond is to hormone-filled young adults and what Jason Bourne is to serious one-minded teenagers. In compared to other directors, Robert Rodriguez falls a little short; stand-alone, and he takes the center stage. Rodriquez has always been influential, being at his peak in El Mariachi and Sin City. This film is just like the director; if compared to his other films, say Sin City, it doesn't amount to much, but as a stand-alone film, it is arguably one of the best children / family films ever. It has a goofy, quite-contrived, quite-implausible plot, crazy, colourful characters and promising new talents that has, sadly, gone to waste now.

Daryl Sabara and Alexa Vega were two of the most promising talents ever to grace the silver-screen. They play Juni Cortez and Carmen Cortez, respectively, and shared an almost impeccable chemistry. Performance-wise, both were great, likable, relatable, dedicated, and downright simple in their characters. No exaggeration, no nothing. Although there could be better candidates, I think we should just declare Carmen and Juni as the Tom & Jerry of the movie-sibling-world. Antonio Banderas is always a welcome in most cases and over here he is no exception. He managed to bring a certain serio-comic edge to his character that I last noted displayed by Robert Donat in The 39 Steps. Carla Gugino has always been one of my favourites, although mostly looks-wise than performance-wise, but she was good all the same. Tony Shalhoub was equally impressive, quite chameleon like, a surprising achievement seeing as he was sharing screen-time with Alan Cumming, a master of disguise himself. I personally believe that Alan should play Willy Wonka, with Tony at his side, because I enjoyed their duo. Robert Patrick and Danny Trejo, although different in their respective careers and status, belong in the "pack" of seriously cool actors who are damn underrated. Great performances or not, these actors are a welcome onscreen presence and they put the entertainment in entertainment.

In conclusion, Spy Kids is definitely going in my greatest movies list, a rather strange inclusion yes, but I like this flick that much. Give it a try, and try to avoid the sequels as much as you can, especially 3 and 4.

7.5/10